Cupid, symbol of Valentines Day, became
associated with it because he was the son of
Venus, the Roman god of love and beauty. Cupid
often appears on Valentine cards holding a bow
and arrows because he is believed to use magical
arrows to inspire feelings of love.

In the Middle Ages, young men and women drew
names from a bowl to see who their valentines
would be. They would wear these names on their
sleeves for one week. To wear your heart on your
sleeve now means that it is easy for other
people to know how you are feeling.

73% of people who buy flowers for
Valentine's Day are men, while only 27 percent
are women.

15% of U.S. women send themselves flowers on
Valentine's Day.

In the United States, 64 percent of men do
not make plans in advance for a romantic
Valentine's Day with their sweethearts.

About 1 billion Valentine's Day cards are
exchanged each year. That's the largest seasonal
card-sending occasion of the year, next to
Christmas.

Teachers will receive the most Valentine's
Day cards, followed by children, mothers, wives,
and then, sweethearts. Children ages 6 to 10
exchange more than 650 million Valentine's cards
with teachers, classmates,and family
members.

About 3% of pet owners will give Valentine's
Day gifts to their pets.

Economic
News

Retail sales posted a better-than-expected
increase in January, a welcome development that
could mean stronger economic growth in coming
months. The Commerce Department said Friday that
retail sales increased by 0.5 percent last month,
the best showing since November and better than
the 0.3 percent increase economists had expected.
Strength in consumer spending is important because
it accounts for 70 percent of economic
activity. The overall economy grew at an
annual rate of 5.7 percent in the October-December
period, the best showing in six years.

***** The number of people filing
for unemployment benefits fell sharply in the past
week, dropping by 43,000 to 440,000. It is very
likely the number will plunge next week because of
the harsh winter weather across most of the
country - we had a little rain this week - and
that means that many government offices where
people go to file for jobless benefits have not
been open. That, of course, means that the number
will likely spike higher in coming weeks once the
weather improves.*****A new report from
Travelocity shows "a dramatic increase in travel
intentions, indicating traveler confidence is on
the rise." It reports that 49 percent of people
surveyed plan to increase their travel in the year
ahead, compared to 21 percent six months ago and
just 10 percent in 2009. And, 30 percent said they
would take a trip this year that they had not
expected to take.*****The urge to travel
may be linked to another report that shows
Americans are generally feeling better about
things. The Healthways Well-Being Index - which
measures emotional and physical health, life
evaluation, behavior and work environment - began
2010 at near record levels. The report said,
"Americans in January reported more optimism about
their current life circumstances and prospects for
the future than at any point since Well-Being
Index measurement commenced 25 months
ago."*****A new report from Comerica Bank
chief economist Dana Johnson says the Great
Recession we are emerging from now could have more
aptly been called the Great Panic. The financial
markets were in turmoil as equities fell 55
percent from October 2007 highs to the bottom in
March last year. "But the panic that led to huge
layoffs and plunging capital spending is likely to
be more easily and quickly reversed. And with many
companies operating with unusually lean work
forces, job growth may rebound surprisingly fast
as businesses ramp up production in reaction to
expanding sales," said
Johnson.

This Day In
History

February 111752 - Pennsylvania Hospital,
the first hospital in the United States, is opened
by Benjamin Franklin.1861 - American Civil
War: United States House of Representatives
unanimously passes a resolution guaranteeing
noninterference with slavery in any state.1963
- Julia Child debuted her French cooking show,
"The French Chef."1964 - Sarah Palin, 11th
Governor of Alaska, is born.1973 - Vietnam
War: First release of American prisoners of war
from Vietnam takes place.1990 - Nelson Mandela
was released from a South African prison after
serving 27 years of a life
sentence.

Website of the
Week

Now that everyone knows about eBay, the
auction site is not the bargain hunter's paradise
that it used to be. On eBay you always find what
you're looking for, but so does everyone else -
and that drives prices up. The solution is to fish
in a less crowded pool, and one of the largest
charities in the world, Goodwill Industries, has a
little-known auction site filled with treasures.
Unlike on eBay, the people selling stuff on Shop
Goodwill often don't know what they've got, so
great deals
abound.

Jennifer Ross

Experience
Counts!Over 21 years in Real Estate
salesServing all of San Diego